Research Question: How is diversity seen in the NCLB Act? Contributed by: Heather Santoro
1.Desegregation: Diversity remains elusive.
This article discusses previous cases of segregation in schools. It talks about the "Little Rock Nine" and the 1954 case of Brown vs. Board of Education in which legal segregation of schools was found to be against the equal protection clas of the United States Constitution. From this case it established that children could not be legally seperated based on race. With the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 there was a requirement that all children receive proficiency in reading and math based on state standards. Through this the data was collected and accounted for by race, gender and other things to determine whether or not where the students attend are making adequate progress. More court cases were brought up including Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District as well as Meredith, Custodial Parent and Next Friend of McDonald v. Jefferson County School Board et al. In each case the court ruled 5-4 that race should not be used as a tiebreaker in assigning children to specific schools. These cases reflected two school districts which were using programs that they developed to ensure some degree of racial diversity in their schools by using a series of criteria to determine who should go to which school. Many issues that are debatable still today were highlighted in the Court's findings including; Belief that society benefits simply because of diversity and Test schores are increased because of diversity. These two things more specifically the last tie into the NCLB Act when discussing there goal of proficiency in reading and math, because that is what the state tests the students on.
After reading this article it was clear to me that diversity and segregation in schools is still a large and controversial deal today. It's hard to ever say if it will ever go away or what will come of it. I do believe though that the more diverse a school, the better idea you will recieve on how well the children are learning based on the different test scores comprised.
(Aug/Sep2007,). Desegregation: Diversity remains elusive. . Reading Today, Vol. 25 Issue 1, Retrieved November 25, 2007, from Web link
2.Khmer rap boys, X-Men, Asia's fruits, and Dragonball Z: Creating multilingual and multimodal classroom contexts.
This article is a reflection of a teacher in the United States. It has to do with research and her own experiences in the classroom. She focuses on inquiry-based projects which are projects that focus on the interests of the students through the lens of these newer views of literacy. The author, Theresa Ann McGinnis states, "Literacy based projcts can support students' literacy and language practices, create supportive classroom environments, and provide an avenue for teachers to learn more about the social worlds of their students." The current trends in teaching, including the No Child Left Behind Act, do not adress the diversity or complexities of our studtents' literacy and language practices. More or less the focus is mostly put on English literacy and the way students' comprehend meanings based on the dominant culture. McGinnis discusses that, inquiry-based projects help reveal diversity and complexities of the students' literacy and language practices. The projects represent more of the multilingual, multicultural and multimodal nature of their social worlds. McGinnis has taught middle school level children in mostly urban California and Pennsylvania. From her research she notices that the students moved across different scripts or writing systems in their homes/communities but each student was a multilingual individual. She learned that the Khmer boys when brought here were forced to learn English and only that but that the ones who stayed in their country weren't provided with adequate English schooling. The students worked in groups on their inquiry based projects and developed many questions but it was difficult for them to work on the projects because of the limited resources.
I enjoyed reading this article. It opened my eyes up to diversity. Knowing that I want to be a teacher I see that what McGinnis was doing as being important. It is important to be culturally aware of your students and not just forcing them to conform. I enjoy that she is eager to learn about them and have the other students learn about the different cultures as well as English and the American culture.
McGinnis, Theresa A (April 2007). Khmer rap boys, X-Men, Asia's fruits, and Dragonball Z: Creating multilingual and multimodal classroom contexts.. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Vol. 50 Issue 7, Retrieved November 26, 2007, from Web link
3.The state of public education and the needs of English language learners in the era of 'No Child Left Behind'.
This article discusses the importance mostly bilingual education in America but how it is not being properly executed. It reflects on how students are thrown in and expected to learn English and the American culture without being given proper attention and focus. Some schools who have not given students the proper education have thrown them into special education classes. The article states: "the No Child Left Behind Act has eliminated federal support for bilingual education programs."
Reading this article I got somewhat offended and upset that the NCLB act would eliminate federal support for bilingual education programs. How are you supposed to be supportive and push the topic of diversity if you can not help with bilingual education programs.
Myhill, William N. "The state of public education and the needs of English language learners in the era of 'No Child Left Behind'." Journal of Gender, Race and Justice. 8. 2 (Fall 2004): 393(55). Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Thomson Gale. Providence Public Library. 29 Nov. 2007 Web link
4.A Research-Based Approach on Teaching to Diversity
This article was a research paper comprised of teaching techniques and beliefs from all types of papers discussing ways to teach diversity and the affects of diversity on society today. A quote by James B. Hunt was what started off the paper and really summed it up. Hunt states, "The passage of the No Child Left Behind Act was a clear expression of will. Its goal to insure that all children have an oppurtunity to learn regardless of income, background, or ethnic identity---cannot be achieved unless we assure that quality teachers stay in the profession." The article later discusses that increase in diversity among students is one of the greatest challanges that will face teachers in years to come. It is important for educators to undestand culture and cultural diversity because they are the ones that influence the student's lives.
This article gave alot of good information from very valid sources. It was the first article that actually helped me understand what diversity is defined as. Four sources of the article, Thereby, DuCette, Sharpiro, and Sewell (1996) defined diversity as:...encompassing the domain of human characteristics which affect an individual's capacity to learn from, respond to, or interact in a school environment. These characteristics can be overt or covert, recognized by the individual or not recognized, and biologically or environmentally or socially determined. Some of the characteristics are meaningful only as they describe an individual; others are more meaningful as they describe the entire school climate so that teaching techniques, teacher expectations, discipline programs, and home/school/community relationships will all reflect an atmosphere supportive of learning for all children. This really helped me grasp and understand diversity better.
Jones, Helen (March 2004). A Research-Based Approach on Teaching to Diversity.. Journal of Instructional Psychology, Vol. 31 Issue 1, Retrieved November 26, 2007, from Web link
5.Diversity, Complexity, and the Mismeasure of Learning.
This article discusses the importance of diversity in higher education. It states that diversity in higher education is a compelling interest for the nation. Justice O'Connor affirmed that there is clear evidence of the educational benefits of diversity. The AAC&U is trying across the country to set up more diversity in higher education. The article states that Congress is looking rather than help the act pass its more or less going against it. It is building on the NCLB Act trying to pass a higher education act. There are nearly 900 AAC&U memeber colleges trying to improve diversity among there campuses.
I agree with this article in that diversity is important in institutions of higher education. The next step after is the real world, and diversity is important then. It is important to understand and be open and welcoming to diversity.
Schneider, Carol G (Summer 2003). Diversity, Complexity, and the Mismeasure of Learning.. Liberal Education, Vol. 89 Issue 3, Retrieved November 27, 2007, from Web link EDC 102 Fnl Prj Part I - Heather
Contributed by: Heather Santoro
1.Desegregation: Diversity remains elusive.
This article discusses previous cases of segregation in schools. It talks about the "Little Rock Nine" and the 1954 case of Brown vs. Board of Education in which legal segregation of schools was found to be against the equal protection clas of the United States Constitution. From this case it established that children could not be legally seperated based on race. With the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 there was a requirement that all children receive proficiency in reading and math based on state standards. Through this the data was collected and accounted for by race, gender and other things to determine whether or not where the students attend are making adequate progress. More court cases were brought up including Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District as well as Meredith, Custodial Parent and Next Friend of McDonald v. Jefferson County School Board et al. In each case the court ruled 5-4 that race should not be used as a tiebreaker in assigning children to specific schools. These cases reflected two school districts which were using programs that they developed to ensure some degree of racial diversity in their schools by using a series of criteria to determine who should go to which school. Many issues that are debatable still today were highlighted in the Court's findings including; Belief that society benefits simply because of diversity and Test schores are increased because of diversity. These two things more specifically the last tie into the NCLB Act when discussing there goal of proficiency in reading and math, because that is what the state tests the students on.
After reading this article it was clear to me that diversity and segregation in schools is still a large and controversial deal today. It's hard to ever say if it will ever go away or what will come of it. I do believe though that the more diverse a school, the better idea you will recieve on how well the children are learning based on the different test scores comprised.
(Aug/Sep2007,). Desegregation: Diversity remains elusive. . Reading Today, Vol. 25 Issue 1, Retrieved November 25, 2007, from Web link
2.Khmer rap boys, X-Men, Asia's fruits, and Dragonball Z: Creating multilingual and multimodal classroom contexts.
This article is a reflection of a teacher in the United States. It has to do with research and her own experiences in the classroom. She focuses on inquiry-based projects which are projects that focus on the interests of the students through the lens of these newer views of literacy. The author, Theresa Ann McGinnis states, "Literacy based projcts can support students' literacy and language practices, create supportive classroom environments, and provide an avenue for teachers to learn more about the social worlds of their students." The current trends in teaching, including the No Child Left Behind Act, do not adress the diversity or complexities of our studtents' literacy and language practices. More or less the focus is mostly put on English literacy and the way students' comprehend meanings based on the dominant culture. McGinnis discusses that, inquiry-based projects help reveal diversity and complexities of the students' literacy and language practices. The projects represent more of the multilingual, multicultural and multimodal nature of their social worlds. McGinnis has taught middle school level children in mostly urban California and Pennsylvania. From her research she notices that the students moved across different scripts or writing systems in their homes/communities but each student was a multilingual individual. She learned that the Khmer boys when brought here were forced to learn English and only that but that the ones who stayed in their country weren't provided with adequate English schooling. The students worked in groups on their inquiry based projects and developed many questions but it was difficult for them to work on the projects because of the limited resources.
I enjoyed reading this article. It opened my eyes up to diversity. Knowing that I want to be a teacher I see that what McGinnis was doing as being important. It is important to be culturally aware of your students and not just forcing them to conform. I enjoy that she is eager to learn about them and have the other students learn about the different cultures as well as English and the American culture.
McGinnis, Theresa A (April 2007). Khmer rap boys, X-Men, Asia's fruits, and Dragonball Z: Creating multilingual and multimodal classroom contexts.. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Vol. 50 Issue 7, Retrieved November 26, 2007, from Web link
3.The state of public education and the needs of English language learners in the era of 'No Child Left Behind'.
This article discusses the importance mostly bilingual education in America but how it is not being properly executed. It reflects on how students are thrown in and expected to learn English and the American culture without being given proper attention and focus. Some schools who have not given students the proper education have thrown them into special education classes. The article states: "the No Child Left Behind Act has eliminated federal support for bilingual education programs."
Reading this article I got somewhat offended and upset that the NCLB act would eliminate federal support for bilingual education programs. How are you supposed to be supportive and push the topic of diversity if you can not help with bilingual education programs.
Myhill, William N. "The state of public education and the needs of English language learners in the era of 'No Child Left Behind'." Journal of Gender, Race and Justice. 8. 2 (Fall 2004): 393(55). Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Thomson Gale. Providence Public Library. 29 Nov. 2007 Web link
4.A Research-Based Approach on Teaching to Diversity
This article was a research paper comprised of teaching techniques and beliefs from all types of papers discussing ways to teach diversity and the affects of diversity on society today. A quote by James B. Hunt was what started off the paper and really summed it up. Hunt states, "The passage of the No Child Left Behind Act was a clear expression of will. Its goal to insure that all children have an oppurtunity to learn regardless of income, background, or ethnic identity---cannot be achieved unless we assure that quality teachers stay in the profession." The article later discusses that increase in diversity among students is one of the greatest challanges that will face teachers in years to come. It is important for educators to undestand culture and cultural diversity because they are the ones that influence the student's lives.
This article gave alot of good information from very valid sources. It was the first article that actually helped me understand what diversity is defined as. Four sources of the article, Thereby, DuCette, Sharpiro, and Sewell (1996) defined diversity as:...encompassing the domain of human characteristics which affect an individual's capacity to learn from, respond to, or interact in a school environment. These characteristics can be overt or covert, recognized by the individual or not recognized, and biologically or environmentally or socially determined. Some of the characteristics are meaningful only as they describe an individual; others are more meaningful as they describe the entire school climate so that teaching techniques, teacher expectations, discipline programs, and home/school/community relationships will all reflect an atmosphere supportive of learning for all children. This really helped me grasp and understand diversity better.
Jones, Helen (March 2004). A Research-Based Approach on Teaching to Diversity.. Journal of Instructional Psychology, Vol. 31 Issue 1, Retrieved November 26, 2007, from Web link
5.Diversity, Complexity, and the Mismeasure of Learning.
This article discusses the importance of diversity in higher education. It states that diversity in higher education is a compelling interest for the nation. Justice O'Connor affirmed that there is clear evidence of the educational benefits of diversity. The AAC&U is trying across the country to set up more diversity in higher education. The article states that Congress is looking rather than help the act pass its more or less going against it. It is building on the NCLB Act trying to pass a higher education act. There are nearly 900 AAC&U memeber colleges trying to improve diversity among there campuses.
I agree with this article in that diversity is important in institutions of higher education. The next step after is the real world, and diversity is important then. It is important to understand and be open and welcoming to diversity.
Schneider, Carol G (Summer 2003). Diversity, Complexity, and the Mismeasure of Learning.. Liberal Education, Vol. 89 Issue 3, Retrieved November 27, 2007, from Web link
EDC 102 Fnl Prj Part I - Heather